A commercial driver’s license (CDL) is a requirement if you want to get behind the wheel of a load-carrying vehicle and drive it. That’s true whether you want to drive a dump truck from one construction site to another or you want to carry vehicles across the country on Big Rig. If there is any reason you need a CDL, it’s the law.

But there are practical reasons, as well, for pursuing a career as a commercial truck driver. For one thing, it’s a construction site position that is in high demand. Finding forklift drivers is as easy as pie. Backhoe drivers are a dime a dozen. Any run-of-the-mill heavy equipment operator can move a scraper. But because you have to have special licensure to become a truck driver, the demand is higher and the qualified applicants are fewer. You’ll instantly stand out in the employment line if you have a commercial driver’s license.

Another reason for obtaining your CDL is the pay. Due to the higher demand and lower supply of qualified truck drivers (most CDL holders go after the adventurous and glamorous long-haul jobs), the pay for these jobs is often higher.

So there are two practical reasons to get your commercial driver’s license. It’s fine to start your career as a heavy equipment operator. But if you want your career to advance beyond the ordinary, get a CDL.

You don’t have to get a Commercial Drivers License when you come to ATS for heavy equipment operator training, but it’s a good idea to consider it. In the decades since Associated Training Services started preparing skilled craftspeople for these important trades, we’ve noticed that heavy equipment operators who also have gone through the CDL Truck Driver Program added a couple more weeks to their schooling and upgraded their career potential to the max.

A lot of times the heavy equipment you learn to operate has to be moved by truck, and the person who can operate the equipment and drive the truck, too, has a better chance of being hired. They also have a higher pay grade most of the time. The more stuff you can do on a work site, the more likely you are to stay working when others get laid off.

It’s pretty simple. Valuable employees are able to do what needs to be done and do it the way it should be done. When the boss needs the backhoe moved to the new site, and the backhoe operator can load it and haul it there, that backhoe operator is valuable. If the backhoe operator can also get in the dump truck, use the grader, and figure out other heavy machinery on the job, then the future looks good, right? Particularly if the task is done professionally like you learn how to do it at ATS.

Every ATS graduate gets help finding jobs for the rest of their career. But the ATS grads who upgraded their training by getting their CDL are able to find more jobs and find them a lot faster.

As Baby Boomers begin to retire, more and more truck driving jobs will become available. When they do, that opens the door for more people to step into these jobs. In order to obtain a truck driving job, however, you have to be trained and qualified. You have to earn a Class A CDL license.

It’s not hard to get one either.

On the whole, heavy equipment operators who have a Class A license enjoy a higher income than other operators. Class A drivers are some of the highest paid workers on the job site because they know how to operate more vehicles.

Even if you don’t plan on a career in heavy construction, you can still earn top dollar as a long haul truck driver. And if you own your rig, then you can charge more still.

Some truck drivers have been known to earn six-figure incomes just by hiring themselves out as long haul truck drivers. And if you carry the right freight (i.e. hazardous materials), then you make even more. All it takes is the right training, the right mindset, and the right financial and career strategies to put you in the position of being a top earner.

If you are ready to start your truck driving career, start it today with training that will lead to your obtaining a Class A drivers license.

There are all sorts of heavy equipment careers. What kind of career you want if you’re willing to work hard for it. The first step is training, and you want to be trained by the best, I’m sure.

Have you done a career outlook study yet? If not, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes an annual outlook on careers in the U.S. A quick look at the construction industry shows that the median income for construction equipment operators in 2010 was $39,460.

That’s the median, which means half the salaries were above that.

Tractor-trailer truck drivers made slightly less than that. But if you look at the number of jobs in 2010, there were over 1 million. Growth expectation is 21%, higher than average.

The BLS website is a wealth of information on all sorts of careers. You should check it out and chart the kind of career in heavy equipment you want to have. What the information doesn’t show is a specialization within these fields. If you have your crane certification, for instance, you can command more income. If you have crane certification and a commercial drivers license, then you can earn more.

Talk to a few heavy equipment operators in your area and find out how much they earn. Different parts of the country have different costs of living and therefore different salary expectations.

One thing is clear. You can have the career you want with the proper planning.

CDL truck driving is one of the nation’s most enduring professions. If you think about it, virtually everything in your possession right now was on a truck at one time. Everything that is purchased at a point of sale must be manufactured and transported from the manufacturer to the retail outlet. That means that truckers are the backbone of society.

But don’t get a big head about it.

In order to be a valued member of the truck driving profession, you have to get trained and certified. The Class A CDL (commercial driver’s license) truck driver’s license is the most important credential you’ll ever earn.

The ATS CDL truck driver’s training is a good mix of classroom training and behind-the-wheel training.

Drivers who graduate from ATS training schools move on to very rewarding careers. Some become tankers. Others haul freight. We have former students in the mining industry, construction, transporting heavy equipment, delivering concrete and asphalt, and even driving dump trucks. No matter what profession you end up in, you can thank your ATS instructor for giving you the legs to get running. Your commercial driver’s license will become the most important thing in your wallet, and it will increase your pay too.

Start your career off with CDL truck driver training from the longest running school in the business.

There was a time when boys grew up playing with trucks and girls grew up playing with dolls. These days, boys and girls play with trucks (and probably dolls) and for some, it’s hard to take that child out of them when they grow up. You can find men and women working together as dump truck drivers on a lot of construction sites, and to watch them, you’d think they were still in their childhood.

So what makes dump truck driving popular? Apart from childhood memories, dump trucks offer a lot. The money is good and the work is regular. In fact, dump trucks are often the last piece of machinery to come to a stop due to weather or the completion of a project. Regular work means regular income, and that’s a must for those who take the owner-driver route.

Dump truck driving involves both team work and individual work. As a team, you need to work with heavy equipment operators so they can fill your dumper quickly and efficiently. In other situations, you will need to work with a team when dumping material, especially when bringing in material used for projects such as roads.

As an individual, you are the master of your vehicle, often buzzing around the place, loading here, unloading there – it’s never a dull moment. There are special skills involved with dump truck driving, team work being one of them, and driving another. You will also need to learn how to use the dumping mechanism, especially when it comes to slow dumping of material over a distance.

Since dump trucks are generally required to drive on public roads, a commercial drivers license will be needed before you can seek employment. We offer professional dump truck driver training along with a career service that can help you find your first job.

One of the big differences between a mobile crane operator and a fixed crane operator is the need for extra skills. Crane operators in general need to know how to stabilize their cranes, and they need to know how to operate their cranes according to local conditions and with a shifting load. Mobile crane operators in most cases also need to have truck driving skills backed up by a commercial drivers license.

As the name implies, mobile cranes are just that – mobile. The crane is a separate unit that has been fixed to the top of a truck. These trucks generally exceed the limit for a standard drivers license, so a commercial drivers license is needed before the crane operator can move their crane from job to job. Whilst an employer could employ two people to do the job – a crane operator and a truck driver – it makes economic sense to have one person who has the skills to do both.

Mobile crane operators may find themselves doing two or three or more different jobs each day, and these jobs will be in different locations. Being able to drive the crane from job to job is therefore a required skill, as is being able to quickly set up their crane so it can safely undertake the job. Setting up includes placing the truck in the best place, anchoring the crane using special lifts – this may lift the truck off its wheels to prevent any rolling and to ensure the crane is working from an even plane. The smallest tilt in the crane will be magnified at the end of the boom, making for a potentially dangerous situation.

When training to become a mobile crane operator, be sure the training includes the skills necessary to gain a commercial drivers license. Without that commercial drivers license, you could well be an unemployable mobile crane operator.

The life of a crane operator can be a dangerous one. It becomes more so for those working at the top of new buildings in the city. Yesterday’s collision between a helicopter and crane in London is a good example – although thankfully not one that happens regularly. Mobile crane operators can be grateful for one thing – they have their feet firmly planted on the ground, and it would take a very low flying helicopter to cause them any problems. In fact, mobile crane operators are more at risk of colliding with overhead power lines than anything else.

Mobile crane operators lead a fairly interesting life. Because they are mobile, they are able to travel very quickly between jobs. A mobile crane is nothing more than a specially built truck that has a crane mounted at the rear. The truck is driven like any other truck following normal truck driving road rules. The crane has its own operating cab – in effect, an operator is skilled as both a truck driver and crane operator, and that often includes the requirement for a commercial drivers license.

There will be times when a mobile crane operator is required to work at the one site for days or weeks at a time. At other times, they may well find themselves at two or more different sites each day, with each site requiring completely different jobs. Variety is certainly a big factor in the life of a mobile crane operator.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools provides training in both mobile crane operations and truck driving. Our training will prepare you for certification as a crane operator and complete the requirements to be issued a commercial drivers license. If you’re interested in a job that has a lot of variety requiring multiple skills, then mobile crane operations not only provide those also a career that is well paid and always in demand.

When we discuss heavy equipment operator careers, the primary focus is on construction. Mining is another industry that relies heavily on equipment operators. Rural communities are also reliant on heavy equipment operators, however, their needs are more for operators who are multi-skilled. This includes being able to operate bulldozers, loaders, excavators and backhoes. It also helps to have a commercial drivers license.

Rural communities are farming communities, and whilst farms frequently have a need for heavy equipment, it is the townships themselves that are most reliant. Heavy equipment operators are generally required to deal with snow and ice in winter, road repairs all year round, general construction, and in many areas, reclaiming land and restoring it to its former natural state.

Working in a rural community has a lot of benefits. You’re certainly not going to be bored since every day tends to bring a different job with a different type of equipment. Rural communities are generally smaller and closer knit compared to large town and cities where most people don’t know each other at all. The down side to a close knit community is that you may find people asking for ‘favors’ – the odd job after hours or on weekends.

If you’re looking for a heavy equipment career that is a little different, is as much a lifestyle as it is a career, then consider becoming a heavy equipment operator in a rural community. You’ll need heavy equipment training on a range of vehicles, and a commercial drivers license. You’ll also need commitment, and a friendly and sociable outlook on life. Bring those traits together and those rural communities will welcome you with open arms.

One of the benefits of driving dump trucks is that you’re always busy. You’re not just busy, you are doing a variety of jobs. Dump truck drivers don’t just drive from A to B all day. They are in and out of their trucks on a regular basis, especially when setting the hopper and dumping a load. Dump truck drivers are always home for dinner as well, and you don’t have to spend any time sleeping in your cab.

Dump trucks are a vital part of any construction team. When it comes to road building, a road simply wouldn’t be built if it wasn’t for the dump trucks bringing in the necessary materials, in particular the materials used to form a road base. At the same time, dump trucks are necessary in the removal of excess dirt and debris that is being cleared to make way for a road. Dump trucks are also necessary when it comes to general construction, particularly in the removal of unwanted material.

There are two main requirements to becoming a dump truck driver. The first is the training required to drive a dump truck, and the second is to acquire a commercial drivers license without which you cannot drive on an open road. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools can help you achieve both. In fact, you can be ready to work as a dump truck driver within weeks of commencing your training, and that includes completing the requirements for a commercial drivers license.

If you’re looking for an interesting and varied career, then dump truck driving could be for you. You’ll be home each night for dinner, and you’ll always be busy – the one thing you won’t be is bored.